The NFL “Watchability Index” is based upon betting market point spreads and totals for the week and current wins of both teams in the 2020 season. This information can be combined to peer into the future and determine what games are the most “Watchable” for week 14 in the NFL. The visualization shows the absolute value of the point spread on the horizontal axis and the total (over/under) on the vertical axis. Additionally, the sum of the wins (home team plus road team) is noted by color with gold being the highest sums and red being the lowest sums. The shape reveals the day and time of the game. As of right now, I do not have a point spread and total for Denver-Carolina, so that game is not included in this week’s index.
Based on this week’s numbers, what games are most “Watchable”? The games that are expected to be both high scoring and close are in the upper-left hand quadrant. Indianapolis-Las Vegas is the best game in this quadrant as it should be a fun game and it has many playoff implications. Games in the lower-left hand quadrant are also expected to be close, but not as high scoring. Pittsburgh-Buffalo is must-see on Sunday night and is the best game in this quadrant (and the weekend on the whole). Baltimore-Cleveland is also an intriguing matchup in this quadrant. Games in the lower-right hand quadrant are not expected to be close and are expected to be relatively lower scoring. Thursday’s game of New England-LA Rams is the best game of this group. The upper-right hand quadrant has expected high scoring, but not close contests. Due to Kansas City’s dominance, their game against Miami is in this quadrant, but it is one of the prime matchups of the weekend despite the relatively high point spread on the game.
My top matchups for Sunday are Kansas City-Miami at 1 PM (EST) and Indianapolis-Las Vegas in the 4:05/4:25 time slot. Enjoy this weekend’s games.
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